From Earth to Sky
by Shiantor
Summary: A Tophaang fanfic. A fifteen year old Aang and Toph are working together to stop bands of Firebenders who had fled once Zuko became Firlord. But who are they working for? And will Toph reveal her feelings? Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of the cha
1. I'm sorry

**Hey. This is my first fanfic so please review! This is going to be a short story but it's hopefully got a big plot. Chapter 2 coming soon!**

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* * *

**Slowly, the creeping chill of winter was ebbing away to be replaced by the warmth of spring. Trees were bursting into beautiful pink blossom and the birds were singing sweetly in the morning sun. Life was steadily seeping back into the forests. 

In a clearing, a lake, free from the icy clutches of winter, shines in the sun, as still and glossy as a polished mirror. Ripples suddenly break the lake's calm surface.

A girl was sat at the lake's edge, letting her sleek hand drift peacefully through the cooling water. Her hair was like black silk, flowing down her back to her waist, perfectly straight and sleek.

She wore a long, dark green dress with a yellow-green lining, held in place with a simple brown belt…the colours of the earth. Black bangs partially concealed her attractive face and pale green eyes. Not that this hindered her sight in any way…she was blind.

However, her lack of true sight did not prevent Toph from "seeing". She possessed an unusually sensitive perception of touch, allowing her to pick up the tiniest vibrations in the earth and "see" the exact location of everything around her. She would be able to determine a person's position, stance, and even facial expression just by their footsteps.

Her unseeing eyes gazed dreamily towards the water. Such a mysterious substance to her. Water always eluded her unique form of sight, shifting and bending the vibrations into an indistinguishable blur. She sighed, feeling the liquid dance tauntingly between her fingers. Sometimes, Toph wondered just what the elusive element actually looked like. Its cool, soothing touch mesmerized her as her hand glided through the water.

A voice brought her back to what senses she possessed.

"Toph?"

The teenager jerked, surprised by her companion's sudden appearance. Aang's footsteps were so light and gentle, it was a small wonder she hadn't sensed him coming.

"I told you to stop creeping up on me, Twinkle Toes," she snapped, calling him by the nickname she knew he hated.

"Sorry, Toph," said Aang simply. "Erm…we're going to be moving on in a few minutes, so I need some help packing up the camp, okay?" Toph felt Aang's foot brush the ground lightly as if he was about to go. But he paused. "What…what were you doing?" he asked curiously.

Toph dried her hand on her dress. "Nothing," she said. The Toph that Aang knew wasn't the sort to be daydreaming by a lakeside on a spring morning. "You go on, I'll catch up." The boy started to walk back through the trees.

Toph smiled to herself. She had always liked Aang, ever since she had first met him three years before. Admittedly the circumstances in which they first encountered each other could have been better, but she liked him nonetheless. She teased her friend constantly, almost in a sisterly fashion. But she kept her true feelings to herself.

* * *

Aang smiled as he wandered back to the campsite. He was glad that Toph had decided to stay with him after he had defeated Ozai. His other companions had been forced to leave him. Katara and Sokka had left to search for their father and Zuko had his own Firelord duties to attend to. 

But Toph had stayed. She had had nowhere else to go. Her parents had been killed and Aang was the only true friend she ever had.

Aang was fairly skinny for fifteen and wore simple robes of yellow and orange. A cerulean stripe ran up his back, over his bald head and ended in a downwards-pointing arrow on his forehead. These symbolic tattoos also ran down his arms and legs, each ending in arrows on the tops of his hands and feet.

He was an Airbender, as his clothing and tattoos were symbolic to his people. Being and Airbender, he was capable of manipulating the air around him, allowing him to create devastating bursts of wind or just hover above the ground on a sphere of air. However, what made him truly unique was that he was the Avatar.

The Avatar was an ancient spirit, one that had come into existence thousands of years before. This spirit would be born into a human, granting them power over not only their nation's element, but all four. When the Avatar died, the spirit would be reincarnated into another nation, following an eternal cycle through the generations.

Despite this, Aang was, at heart, just a kid. He hungered for adventure and the freedom to travel the world. But even after almost three years, Aang still had business to attend to.

A large number of fire nation soldiers had fled after Ozai had died, trying to regroup and overthrow Firelord Zuko. Aang and Toph had successfully defeated fourteen troops over the course of two years and there had been sightings of another in the forest in which the two teenagers had camped out.

Aang started taking down his tent. He looked back through the trees. "What's taking her so long?" he asked himself. He shrugged and returned to his work. Suddenly, he heard footsteps through the trees, followed by the slight clink of metal armor. Whoever it was, it wasn't Toph. There were several sets of footsteps now. They grew louder before becoming steadily more distant, as if they had just passed the campsite.

They were heading for the lake.

* * *

Finally, Toph heaved herself up from the ground and stretched her limbs. 

"Well," she said to herself. "Might as well help out Aang back at the camp." She started to wander back towards the trees. At that moment, she felt something; the faint vibrations of distant footsteps. Not Aang's, they were too heavy, too decisive. There was more than one. As they drew closer, Toph could "see" them in more detail. Five sets of footsteps, creeping between the trees. As the vibrations ran up their bodies, Toph could make out heavy armor of both metal and thick fabric.

Toph was about to call out for Aang but stopped. She could handle the soldiers herself.

The men leapt from the bushes into the clearing, believing they had caught their target unawares. Toph deliberately stumbled back and gasped in apparent shock.

"Halt, peasant," spat the soldier closest to Toph. All of them had assumed identical fighting stances, clenched fists pointing towards the seemingly helpless girl. "What business do you have in these woods?"

Toph feigned terror. "What? Who's there?" She scrabbled back away from the fire nation men. "Please don't hurt me!"

One of the soldiers looked at her face, noticing her unusually pale eyes. "I think she's blind sir," he said. "Hardly a threat. Maybe we should just head back."

"No," said the group leader, not allowing his stance to falter. "We've got orders to kill anyone who comes too close to our hideout."

Although Toph appeared to be scared, her mind was racing. _Orders? This means they're not working alone! _

The leader continued. "We can't let any information reach the Avatar. We've lost fourteen troops to him and his companion. This girl could be giving them information."

Toph couldn't help but laugh inside her head. They didn't know who she was…but they would soon find out.

Toph was on her feet now, but crouched low, pretending to cower from the advancing soldier. She even threw in a few fake tears for effect. She felt him raise his arm and heard a hiss, followed by a light crackling noise. She could feel the warmth of a nearby flame on her face. The Firebender slowly raised his fire-bathed hand, preparing to strike.

But Toph struck first.

She struck the ground before her attacker with a clenched fist. There was a rumbling beneath them, making the soldiers lose their balance. Suddenly, a pillar of stone erupted from the earth beneath the startled Firebender, sending him hurtling through the air.

The young Earthbender could feel the others shifting about, trying to regain their balance. She quickly slid her foot across the ground in a semicircle. Where her foot had touched, a wall rose up. She heard the roar of four blasts of fire, but they struck her rock barrier, leaving her unscathed.

Quickly, she crouched, lowering her hand towards the ground as she did so. She shot back up, a swirling tower of soil and earth following her hand. She let it arc above her head before it crashed down onto two Firebenders on the other side of the wall. She ran out from behind her protective semicircle of rock and pressed her hand hard against the mound under which the two soldiers were buried. In an instant, soft soil turned to durable stone, trapping the men completely.

Just as she stepped back, a scorching stream of fire seared past Toph's face. Her heart skipped a beat._ Wow,_ she thought in genuine fear. _I hadn't heard that coming. _She swiftly raised her hand and a small boulder followed it, bursting up from the undergrowth. She stepped forward, throwing her hands in the direction of the attacker. The boulder struck true, crashing into the man's armored chest, sending him hurtling into the lake with a mighty splash.

But she had forgotten the fifth Firebender. There was a sudden fiery roar behind Toph. She felt the heat blazing towards her. There was no time to move out of its path. She closed her eyes and braced herself.

Suddenly, there was an almighty gale that blew the deadly flames off course. Toph felt the wind slam into her with incredible force. She twisted her feet and the earth consumed her feet and ankles, rooting her to the spot. The Firebender wasn't so lucky.

* * *

Aang continued to move his arms in complex circular motions, bringing on wave after wave of hurricane-like wind. The fire nation soldier flew through the air and into a tree trunk. The Firebender was dazed but not unconscious. He attacked Aang with a wave of searing fire. The young Avatar simple held out his hand and let the flames bend around him like water around an island. 

The man was struck dumb with shock, giving Aang the chance to reach out towards the lake, summoning a whirling torrent of water from its depths. He thought he'd try a technique he had seen Katara use once. The water struck the man head on, soaking him in seconds. With a gesture of his hand the water crackled and froze, binding the man in an icy prison.

Aang look around. As well as the soldier trapped in ice, he could see one dangling unconscious from a nearby tree, two stuck inside a stone mound and one crawling out of the lake on the opposite shore.

Toph walked over to him. Aang would have expected her to be grateful for his help.

But she wasn't. In fact, she looked furious.

"What d'ya think you're doing?" she shouted at him. "Who told you to interfere?"

Aang was shocked. "Toph, I was only trying to help…"

"Yeah? Well I didn't _need_ your help!" she interrupted. "Why does every think that I'm weak?"

"Toph," Aang said, failing to keep the irritation out of his voice. "That flame was pretty much at your _neck!_ There's no way you could have blocked it. Why can't you appreciate that I was trying to help you?"

"Hey, I don't know if you heard me the last thousand times," said Toph angrily. "But I can look out for myself!"

"Well good luck with the 'looking' part!" Aang had shouted at her without thinking, but he felt a sudden wave of cold sweep over him. Toph's face was absolutely livid. He _really_ shouldn't have said that.

But, surprisingly, Toph didn't hurl him into the air on a pillar of stone. She didn't send solid rocks flying towards him. In fact she didn't Earthbend at all.

It seemed that a clenched fist would suffice.

Toph punched him hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. She was stronger than she appeared.

Aang fell to his knees, spluttering and clutching his stomach as Toph ran away through the trees, tears falling as she went.

"Toph, I'm sorry!" shouted Aang once he could breathe properly again, but the girl didn't turn back. Aang closed his eyes and hung his head in guilt. "I'm sorry…"


	2. Truly Blind

Toph continued to run through the trees, her sightless eyes streaming with tears. She stopped, her face buried in her hands as she wept. How could he _say_ that? After all she had done to help him.

She slammed her fist against the bulky trunk of a towering tree. The very earth shook with her rage.

The ground stilled and Toph let her head fall against the tree, standing in silence.

_How could he?_

There she stood for what seemed like hours, as the afternoon sun crept across the sky.

_Why does everyone think that I'm weak? I can take care of myself. Aang of all people should know that._ Finally, she opened her eyes and turned around. For a few moments, she considered heading back to camp, but soon decided against it. She couldn't bring herself to go back to Aang.

She walked into an empty clearing and stamped her foot. Several jags of rock shot up from the ground, their points meeting to form a stone tent. She crawled inside and brought up a final segment to close herself off.

There she lay silently as the sky steadily darkened outside. Her eyes were wide open as her brain waged a constant war on itself.

_He was only trying to help you._

_I didn't need any help!_

_You would've been killed if he hadn't done anything._

_You don't know that. Why did he interfere?_

_Because he cares about you._

Toph lay in silence. She remembered what an old man had said to her years before:

"_There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you."_

Aang had been trying to help her…to save her_ life…_and she had spat in his face. She couldn't blame him for being angry. She buried her face in her hands. In the morning she would head back to the camp, if it was still there, and apologize to Aang. She only hoped that he would forgive…

She heard a twig snap outside. Was it Aang? A segment of the tent disappeared back into the earth, allowing her to exit. She stopped outside. She couldn't feel any footsteps, not even Aang's. There was only the eerie silence of the night.

She turned around and suddenly heard a distant whizzing noise…approaching fast. Instinctively, she stepped to the side and heard a loud 'chink' as a razor-sharp dagger embedded itself into the wall of her tent, only an inch from her face.

Toph immediately assumed a fighting stance. She heard movement in the trees above. She stood, waiting, listening for any sound or vibration that would betray her attacker's position.

Someone landed on the ground about thirty feet ahead of Toph. She instantly "saw" a tall person in long battle robes. The assassin appeared to have the figure of a teenage female, slightly older than Toph.

The whizzing of daggers could be heard again and Toph quickly brought up a wall of stone, blocking the five lethal projectiles. She could hear someone bounding quickly between the trees as the Earthbender tried to block her deadly attacker.

Toph ran out and hurled rock after rock at her opponent, but the older girl was too quick, dodging the boulders with ease. The person who had been leaping about above them landed nimbly behind Toph. Before she could react, she felt two fingers jab her sharply in the back.

A pain shot through her body and she collapsed, unconscious and paralyzed.

* * *

Aang struggled to sleep that night. The day's events rushed through his mind and guilt continued to sweep through him. He also feared for Toph's safety. He knew that she was stubborn and probably wouldn't return until morning, but he still felt that she could be in danger.

Eventually, he drifted off into a troubled sleep. He opened his eyes and found himself standing in a vast desert. Before him stood a colossal rock, and a number of people stood before it.

Most of them wore rough, sand-coloured clothing, many of which wore strips of cloth about their face to protect them from the punishing heat. But two of them didn't wear anything to conceal their faces, revealing their terrified expressions.

Opposite this group stood four people who Aang recognized instantly. There was Sokka, a boy of fifteen, who had short, almost shaven brown hair with a short ponytail, dressed in the blue clothing of the water tribe.

Aang also spotted Katara, Sokka's sister, standing nearby. The fourteen-year-old wore her long, brown hair in an elegant braid that fell to her waist, and wore water tribe clothing, like her brother.

Toph was there too. Here, she was only twelve, her black hair tied up in a large bun at the back of her head, held in place with a green hair band that matched her short fighting robes.

But Aang knew the final person better than anyone…

It was himself.

But here he was different. He wore the same clothes as the older Aang and was only a few inches shorter, but his eyes and tattoos shone with a fierce white light, and every inch of his face was contorted in the utmost fury.

"_Tell me where Appa is!"_ the younger Aang demanded the terrified tribesmen. The boy's voice was horribly distorted and unnaturally deep for a twelve-year-old.

"I-I traded him," stammered the younger of the two unmasked men. "To some merchants. He's probably in Ba-Sing-Se by now. Th-they were going to sell him there."

Aang's face remained unchanged.

"Please!" begged the man. "We'll escort you out of the desert, we'll help however we can!"

A terrible wind began to swirl around Aang, whipping up the sand into a deadly sandstorm.

Sokka grabbed Toph's shoulder and led her away from the furious Avatar. "Just get out of here!" he shouted. "_Run!_"

The swirling winds spread further, tearing across the desert. The older Aang, invisible to everyone, tried to run, but was consumed by the mighty cloud of sand.

His eyes snapped open. He was lying on the ground in his tent, back in the present. He was drenched in cold sweat. He covered his face with his hands. He had just seen an event from three years before, when he was in the Avatar state; a terrible state which took hold in times of overpowering rage. A state where Aang could no longer control his own actions, unleashing destruction beyond comprehension, yielding the power to smite entire armies single-handedly.

But it wasn't the memory that frightened Aang the most. He had dreamt about seeing himself in the Avatar state on numerous occasions. But every time he did, it signified that danger was looming.

Danger that would force him into the Avatar state once again.

Aang stood up, putting on his robes. He needed to find Toph…as quickly as possible.

* * *

Gradually, Toph became dimly aware of people speaking nearby. She was still dazed and groggy, but she was slowly returning to consciousness. One of the first things she noticed was that she was suspended above the ground. Ropes bound her wrists, keeping her feet from touching the earth.

She was momentarily overcome with panic. If she couldn't touch the ground, she couldn't feel vibrations, and if she couldn't feel vibrations, she was blind.

Truly blind.

Judging by the proximity of the voices, she was around ten feet up. She almost started struggling, but decided to stay still with her eyes closed. She needed to hear what her captors were saying.

"I still don't see why we have to dangle her above the ground like this," one of them said. "You said she's blind. It just seems so unfair." Her voice sounded whiny.

"Ty-Lee, I've told you, she's an Earthbender," said the other girl in a bored voice. "If we let her feet touch the ground, she would be able to feel our footsteps and attack us. We've got orders to keep her above the earth at all costs."

Toph felt a slight trickle of fear run through her. Katara had once told her about these two. Ty-Lee was a talented acrobat and skilled hand-to-hand combatant, despite her bubbly nature. She knew the human body well and could bring her opponents down by locating and striking their pressure points. Toph assumed that the other was Mai, a companion of Ty-Lee. She was a deadly warrior who wielded a variety of throwing knives with lethal accuracy.

At that moment, footsteps could be heard walking towards wherever Toph was being held captive. Toph didn't need to feel any vibrations to know who this third person was. Wherever Ty-Lee and Mai went, she was sure to follow. Sister of Zuko, daughter of Ozai, princess of the Fire nation…

Mai spoke as the third girl entered the room. "We have her, your highness."

"Azula," Toph said venomously. She opened her eyes to let the trio know that she was conscious.

"Ah, you're awake," sneered Azula. "I hope you didn't mind my companions here paying you a little visit."

"Don't patronize me," Toph snapped. "How can you still be alive? You should've died when your father's palace burned down."

"Oh no, my little Earthbender," said the princess. "I lived. You didn't think I would allow my dear brother to make a disgrace of the Fire nation, did you?"

"It's you," said Toph. "You're the one in charge of the Firebender troops aren't you?"

"Very good," Azula said. "We were getting so close to forming an army, using this abandoned tower as a hideout. Until you and the _Avatar_ decided to take things into your own hands." Toph heard her step closer. "Which brings me to my next subject," she said. "Where is he?"

Toph laughed. "You really think I'm going to tell you where Aang is? Go to hell you little…Ahh!"

Something razor-sharp nicked her arm at blinding speed. Toph could feel a tiny slice in her arm, as shallow as a paper-cut.

"You need to watch what you say in front of princess Azula," said Mai, unsheathing another knife. "Because it might just be the last thing you ever say."

"Thank you Mai," said Azula slyly. "Perhaps that will loosen her tongue."

"Not in the slightest," said Toph with a smirk.

The trio stood in silence.

"Very well," said Azula. "Mai, Ty-Lee, you will be rewarded for your actions, but for now, I think I can deal with this peasant alone…Ty-Lee…_Ty-Lee!_"

"What? Oh, sorry Azula." The girl clearly hadn't been listening to anything that had been going on.

"Just go," said an irritated Azula. Two sets of footsteps left the tower.

The silence between them was almost tangible. No sound was made for over a minute.

Toph suddenly screamed as there was a deafening crash and an explosion of stone above her. She felt an intense heat sear past her face as the entire tower shook. Within seconds, all was still again.

"What was that?" Toph demanded. "What did you do?"

"Just sent up a little signal," said Azula. "And when the Avatar sees it, he'll be sure to follow it…straight to me."

* * *

Aang had been soaring above the trees on his gliderfor almost an hour, desperately searching for Toph. He had shouted himself hoarse in the hopes that she would respond through the darkness, but only the echoes of his own voice answered his cries.

As he squinted, he could make out something like a tent in a clearing below. He swooped down, landing lightly on his feet.

The tent was made of rock; rock that had obviously been Earthbended. There was a rough wall of stone nearby too. Both structures had small holes in them in places, as if they had been struck by small, sharp objects.

On one side of the wall, Aang could see a long, flattened line of earth, where someone had been dragged away. The track led through the trees.

Aang fell to his knees. Toph had been ambushed and kidnapped. It could take hours before he reached the end of the trail. If only he had searched for her earlier.

There was a sudden explosion and a flash of light that made Aang leap to his feet in shock. A searing bolt of lightning shot up into the sky. It seemed to be coming from an old, ruined tower on a hilltop, just outside the forest. Aang could just make it out through the trees.

Aang's heart was filled with both hope and fear. Lightning could only be summoned by a Firebender of great skill. He was hopeful that that was where Toph was being held captive, but fearful of whoever had sent up that bolt of lightning.

He swiftly folded out his glider and soared up into the night sky. High above the trees, he could see the tower clearly, a small tendril of smoke creeping out of the hole in the top.

He landed lightly next to the tower. There was a large crack in the wall next to him. Aang silently peered through it to see who was inside.

Aang almost gasped with shock; there was Toph, strung up by her hands, ten feet above the floor, but she was conscious. Another, older girl was standing on the floor, looking up at her hostage. Even though her back was turned, he instantly recognized the red and black armor and jet-black hair.

Azula.

A surge of anger shot through his body at the sight of her. _No!_ He thought to himself. _Stay calm. You don't want to trigger the Avatar state with Toph so close by._

"So what if he does come here?" snapped Toph aggressively. "Then what? You lost to him before, what makes you think you'll beat him this time?"

"Because, little girl," said Azula. "One: Before, I was under orders to make sure that the Avatar was captured alive. But I have no reason to hold back now. Two: He killed my father, and I will _ensure_ that he dies a slow and painful death for his actions. And three: for as long as you are my hostage, he will fear unleashing his full power to ensure your safety…"

There was a sudden explosion as Aang burst a hole in the wall of the tower. Before Azula could react, he struck her with a terrible burst of air that sent her hurtling into the wall.

Azula shook her head to clear her senses and leapt up, sending a jet of blue fire flying towards the Avatar.

With a practiced motion, Aang swept his hand upwards and the flame followed. He bended the stream up through the air and brought it back down onto its creator. Azula dodged the blast and the fire scorched a black mark on the floor.

"Aang?" said Toph hopefully. "Is that you?"

"Don't worry Toph, I'm here," said Aang. "Whether you want me to be here or not, I'm here."

Several balls of searing blue flame flew at Aang. He leapt into the air, avoiding the attack. As his feet touched the ground, he brought up a pillar of rock beneath Azula's feet. She flew through the air, crashed painfully into a wall and fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

Aang ran over, assuming a stance that would allow him to strike quickly if she tried to escape.

"Why did you do this?" demanded Aang, his voice shaking in anger. "Why?"

"Because," panted Azula, not meeting his gaze. "You killed my father. You killed the only person I ever cared about. And I want…I want…" She stopped.

"What?" said Aang.

Azula looked up at him, a malicious grin on her face. "I want you to know what it's like to lose someone you love."

She leapt up and a bolt of roaring thunder erupted from her fingertips. The next thing Aang heard was Toph's agonized scream as the bolt struck her shoulder.

"TOPH!" Aang screamed.

The rope supporting her burned and snapped, causing her to plummet through the air. Aang ran out and caught the injured girl in his arms.

Forgetting Azula, he lay her down on the floor. A hole had been scorched in her clothes, revealing a horrific, blackened wound on her shoulder. The skin around it was reddened and burnt. Her eyes were closed.

"Toph…" Tears streamed freely from Aang's eyes. "_Toph!_" He shook her but she did not wake. "No…no you can't do this! _Please Toph, wake up!_" She lay motionless in his arms.

As the boy wept for the young girl before him, Azula stood up.

"It hurts doesn't it?" she snapped. "Losing someone so close to you. But don't worry…" A flickering blue flame danced in her raised hand. "You'll join her soon enough!"

Aang turned to face her. The princess stumbled back in fear and shock. The flame disappeared.

Aang's face was twisted with rage, his eyes and tattoos blazing with a fierce white light.


	3. Union

Aang had entered the dreaded Avatar state. Even Azula feared its power. It had been in this state that Aang had killed her father in an explosive storm of blazing white fire.

Aang stood, facing Azula. Every muscle in his body was tensed. Azula attempted to strike the Avatar with a bolt of lightning, but the sizzling fork of energy swerved to the left, blowing a hole in the tower wall. He didn't even flinch.

The princess turned to face the wall behind her, trying desperately to find a means of escape. She knew that even an army of ten thousand strong would be foolish to fight Aang in the Avatar state.

Winds started to swirl around the inside of the tower, whipping up the dust they grew stronger. The dust stung Azula's eyes, temporarily blinding her. The winds were growing stronger.

She could faintly see the hole in the wall that her redirected lightning had created. She ran as fast as she could, struggling against the gale as it threatened to sweep her off her feet. She grasped the edge of the hole and slowly heaved herself out of the terrible hurricane inside the tower.

She ran for the forests below, not daring to look back.

Aang was aware of Azula's escape. The tower cracked and exploded into boulder-sized chunks as the storm raged through its walls. The deadly tornado reached up and dragged down clouds from the sky. The pieces of the tower span around the furious Avatar in the almighty storm.

Azula had jumped onto the huge black lizard that was tied to a tree just outside the forest. With a snap of the reins, the creature scuttled off away from the tornado.

The twister expanded, growing wider and tearing up the earth as it went, dragging more rocks and earth into the whirling tempest. Aang couldn't think rationally in the Avatar state. The storm would just expand, spreading out across the forests and mountains, tearing up all in its path, until Azula was killed.

And the princess was already well beyond its reach and still fleeing.

Trees were uprooted, adding to the destructive force that was slowly consuming the land around it.

* * *

A sharp pain in her shoulder. Wind blowing her long hair across her face. A dull roar.

These were the first things Toph noticed as she slowly regained consciousness. She could feel something shaking the earth beneath her. It felt like an earthquake, but then she realized that she was lying on a perfectly round, flat island of stone and the earth around it wasn't just cracking…but disappearing. Chunks of earth were being torn up into the air.

It wasn't an earthquake, she realized. But sheer destructive force.

She could feel Aang nearby, his very body pulsing with power. With a horrible sinking feeling, Toph realized what was happening.

She tried to stand, but screamed out as her left shoulder seared with an excruciating, burning pain. The wound smarted and her arm was trembling.

She slowly stood, clenching her teeth as the agony shot through her arm. A terrible wind was blowing into her with unbelievable force. She took a deep breath and stamped her foot, letting the stone beneath her crawl up her feet, rooting her to the spot.

Suddenly, something small and very hard struck the side of her head. Even such a brief moment of contact told her senses that it was a stone. She realized that the huge chunks of earth that had been disappearing were spinning in the gale around her, and Aang was twenty feet away. She had to reach him without being struck down by the very element she commanded.

Ignoring the pain, she threw her arms out, weaving a sphere of invisible earthbending force around her. Any earthen material that got too close to her would be thrown away from her. But with her arm burning with such unbearable pain, would she be able to keep it up?

She released one foot and quickly placed it in front of the other before allowing the earth to grip it once again.

"AANG!" she screamed out. "PLEASE LISTEN! YOU HAVE TO STOP THIS!"

Aang was still standing perfectly still, letting the tempest rage around him, deaf to Toph's desperate pleas.

Toph took another cautious step forward. "AANG, I'M OK! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!" Another step. "YOU'RE DESTROYING EVERYTHING! I'M BEGGING YOU, STOP!"

Aang remained unchanged.

Toph continued to make her way slowly towards him, her eyes streaming with tears of pain and fear. She had made it past halfway when a colossal boulder slammed into her protective field. It hurtled back through the air, but Toph screamed in agony and collapsed, almost passing out from the pain.

She could no longer keep up her earth-repelling barrier. The winds started to drag her back but she sunk her fingers into the stone, holding on for dear life.

_No!_ She cried out in her mind. _I'm not giving up yet!_

She reached forwards with her injured arm and gripped the stone as her right arm was doing. Her shoulder stung as she did so. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and released her right hand.

She screamed at the top of her lungs as the weight was suddenly placed on her shoulder and she swiftly reached forwards with her good arm, clinging to the earth just ahead of her left hand.

She was getting closer to Aang. She had to keep going.

Every time she reached forwards she screamed, the pain increasing with every second. Finally, she was at Aang's feet. The agony in her arm was so intense that she thought she would faint.

She slowly stood, using Aang's body for support. She moved herself around so she was facing him.

"PLEASE AANG!" she cried. The vibrations in the earth were so strong, she could "see" his face, his enraged expression. "THIS ISN'T YOU! YOU CAN FIGHT THIS! I KNOW YOU CAN!"

She embraced him, her tears falling onto his fluttering robes. She had to get through to him. She had to somehow bring Aang out of the Avatar state.

She pulled her head back and faced him. She could feel his face before her, so full of anger and hate.

Suddenly, in a final, desperate attempt to awaken Aang from the frightening state that gripped him…she pressed her lips against his.

There, in the centre of a raging tempest, she kissed him. Everything she had ever felt for Aang was flowing into him.

The winds started to die down. The spinning boulders crashed back to the earth and the storm spread no further.

All of Aang's rage and fury ebbed away as he came out of the Avatar state.

Toph pulled away and Aang collapsed, exhausted, into Toph's arms.

There they were, on a small island of stone, with a mile of torn earth and uprooted trees around them.

"Toph," Aang said weakly.

"What is it?" Toph asked, wiping the tears from her eyes and smiling in relief.

"I'm sorry…"

His eyes closed and he passed out.

Toph smiled and whispered in the silence of the night.

"Don't be…"

* * *

Water swirled around Aang's fingers as he started to heal the lightning wound on Toph's shoulder. Expert Waterbenders were capable of imbuing bodies of water with powerful healing properties.

Slowly, fresh new skin crept over the blackened hole. When the healing was complete, Toph flexed her newly repaired shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks Aang," she said. "I owe you one."

"Whoa, hold on a moment," said Aang with a smile on his face. "Did you just thank me for helping you? _And_ you didn't call me Twinkle Toes? Who are you and what have you done with Toph Bei-Fong?"

Toph laughed. "Very funny," she said. "I suppose I've just come to realize that there's nothing wrong with letting your friends help you out when you really need it."

She smiled and Aang smiled back. They sat in silence on their island of stone. They hadn't gone back to camp because Aang had been unconscious and Toph had been too injured to carry him. They had just sat there, in the center of the immense devastation that surrounded them.

Aang looked over at Toph, who was brushing her black hair out of her face. Aang couldn't recall anything that had happened whilst he was in the Avatar state a few hours before. But one moment stood out vividly in his mind.

"Toph," he said.

"Yeah?" She turned to face him.

"I…I can't remember anything that happened earlier," he said. "But I remember that you…kissed me."

Toph turned away and her cheeks turned red. "Oh," she said with a nervous smile. "That."

"I just wanted to know…why?"

Toph looked around nervously. "Well…it's just that…because…" She faced him, and although Aang knew she was blind, it looked like she was staring at him through her pale eyes. "I…I love you Aang."

Aang was taken aback by what Toph had said. "You…seriously?"

Toph nodded, her whole face turning red. "I have done for a long time," she said, looking away. "You were the first person to see me for who I really was. You didn't see me as daughter of the Bei-Fong family or the Blind Bandit; you saw…_me._ The person I really am."

Aang looked at her. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Toph snorted. "Please. What's the point in admitting your feelings to someone when they don't feel the same way about you," she said. "For the last three years, all I've done is tease and insult you, call you by that stupid nickname. And let's face it, I'm not much to look at. Why would you love me back?"

Slowly, Aang reached out and took hold of Toph's hand. She faced him.

"Because, as you say," Aang said, looking into her eyes. "I see who you really are."

Their faces drew closer, looking into each other's eyes, and the two kissed.

The sun slowly rose on the horizon. The first light of dawn fell upon two teenagers, sitting in each other's arms on an island of stone, lips pressed together.

The new dawn paid witness to an unlikely union. A union of rock and air, stone and wind…

A union of Earth and Sky.


End file.
